Americans discard about 100 billion plastic bags each year. Some states and municipalities have passed measures banning or limiting their use. In Western Massachusetts, a more individualized approach has emerged. It's called The BagShare Project.

Blanding’s turtles are considered a threatened species in Massachusetts. The nonprofit Grassroots Wildlife Conservation is working to protect newly hatched turtles, as mortality is high in the first year, and has found willing helpers among some local elementary students.

Solar and wind power are important, but really solving the climate crisis will take a whole new generation of energy-efficient technologies, and even new companies to develop them. But there's a growing force in the field — the green tech incubator.

The Dalai Lama prohibits his followers from praying to what he considers the malevolent deity of Dorje Shugden. But adherents of this practice, many of them western converts, say the Tibetan religious leader is guilty of persecution.

What would you do with an extra second? Well, today you get to decide, because today is one second longer than usual. What’s that you say, the idea makes your head spin? Well, it’s because of the irregular way the earth spins.

Updated

02/26/2015 - 10:30am

There may be a counterintuitive explanation for the deep freeze that hit New England this winter: The rapidly warming Arctic is causing big disruptions in the jet stream, which carries weather across North America. Is this the worst winter you've experienced?

It's neither shaken nor stirred, but it's a beverage that James Bond would have enjoyed just as much: Coffee made with a brewer called a Chemex. The British spy's method of choice is actually Made in the USA at a factory in Massachusetts, so anyone can learn to brew Bond-style coffee.

Japan's high speed trains run upwards of 200 miles per hour while Amtrak's Acela can only go its top speed of 150 for short stretches. The reason? Outdated infrastructure. After World War II, the US invested in cars, not trains, and today its passenger railways lag far behind countries in Europe and Asia. Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter lays out a new vision for US transportation in her book "Move: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead."

Hiking was never fun for Van Pol when he was a child: It brought back fearful memories of his family's escape from Cambodia and into refugee camps. It wasn't until a high school field trip to a New Hampshire peak that hiking became Van's salvation.

The Tsarnaevs trained at the mixed martial arts gym under reporter Andrea Crossan's home. And, it turns out, that some of the best fighters in MMA come from the Caucasus region that also produced the Tsarnaevs.

Updated

09/27/2015 - 10:00am

He fled Boston leaving a trail of 550 people abused by parish priests and court judgments that topped $85 million. Now that Pope Francis has promised accountability to survivors of church sex abuse, where is Cardinal Law? Turns out, he's in a new apartment in the Vatican — when he's not on vacation.

A new exhibition opened on Friday in Plymouth, Massachusetts, telling the story of how Europeans raided the area for slaves long before the Pilgrims arrived. The exhibit was made by a Native American crew, giving them the chance to tell their peoples' story.